The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Mexico and Canada is under way with teams across the globe battling to secure their place in the expanded 48-team tournament. Some nations have made a great start to their qualifiers, with the top three in each group securing their spot. Other sides will need to battle through tough home and away matches in order to secure their spot at the finals, which will be held over a period of 10 matchdays during five international breaks.
The first round of World Cup qualifying began on March 21 and will conclude in November 2025. Six groups have four teams and six have five, with the winners of each qualifying for the World Cup directly. The runners-up will then progress into the play-offs, with the four best ranked Nations League group winners entering that stage.
Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia are among the teams with good starts to their World Cup qualifiers, while Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon will need to improve upon mediocre records to reach the play-offs. In the CONCACAF qualifying process, Canada, USA and Honduras have already secured their places, while Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Curacao will also feature in the play-offs.
